Econoline have been compared to Dinosaur Junior and have that lo-fi
American feel of Pavement, but strangely enough hail from London. Signed
exclusively to Seriously Groovy "Music Is Stupid" follows Econoline's previous
two well received singles.

The intro to "The C And The G" is so long that on first listen I foolishly
assumed that this was an instrumental in the style of Scottish noise terrorist
Mogwai. Then the expressive but technically weak vocals of Ian Scanlon
come in with them being notably low in the mix. The production has an amateurish
feel which suits the raw intensity of the music. On "I'm Plagued" Piers
Chandlers guitar playing is very close to the technique David Gedge made
his own in the Wedding Present and the album is rooted very deeply in the
late 1980s alternative music scene. The harmonies between John Scanlon
and Gabriella Zappia slows down the pace on "Missing From Pictures". Starting
very slowly then building up the momentum thanks in some small way to the
steady workman like drumming from Tom Emmerting.

The other tracks are pretty much in a similar fashion and with ten tracks
can become just a little bit limiting, but the use of a clarinet, saxophone
and organ add a bit of much needed variety amongst all the clatter and
chaos surrounding them. You can't deny that Econoline will find an audience
in that defeatist indie kind of way and they do have genuine moments of
magic on this debut album. If you take "Music Is Stupid" as sign of things
to come on album number 2 then it has the potential to make a very satisfying
and highly anticipated album.